The history of doping in the Olympics occurred back in 1968 in Mexico City, where the first doping scam was found. Let’s look at some of the biggest doping scandals in the history of the Olympics.
Doping is when athletes take performance-enhancing drugs with the goal of improving their ability in a competition.
Based on this idea, the anti-doping test ended the dreams of many athletes over the years of getting an Olympic medal.
The doping test has already shown many scandals in the sport and revealed performances that would go down in history.
Most Famous Doping Scandals in Olympics History
1. The Russian Team
When evidence of a lot of doping in sports in the country came to light in 2015, the scandal started.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) concluded in 2019 that the Russians changed lab data without permission, placed fake evidence, and deleted files that proved possible doping cases.
Russia was banned from the Summer and Winter Olympics, as well as the World Championships, for two years by the World Anti-Doping Agency after the incident.
This included Russian officials. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed to the sentence, which will last until December 2022.
2. Constantinos Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou
After winning medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Konstantinos Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou did not take the anti-doping test because they were hurt in a motorbike accident.
The Greeks were called up twice more, but they still didn’t show up at the test spot. After four years, the case was tried again, and the couple’s trainer was found guilty and given a four-year sentence.
3. John Brown
Benjamin Sinclair Johnson, who goes by the name Ben Johnson or Big Ben, was born in Jamaica and used to be a Canadian runner.
The record for the fastest 100-meter dash time was broken for the first time in history in 1988.
There was gold in Seoul for only 48 hours, though. Johnson failed a drug test for an illegal steroid. He lost his medal and had to sit out for two years.
4. Marjorie Jones
Marion Jones is an American athlete who does well in sprints and jumps races. The Americans won three golds and two bronzes in Sydney 2000, which amazed everyone.
After the race, she would be the only woman in sports history to win five medals at the same Olympics.
However, four years later, the respect that was gained in Australia was taken away. Jones wasn’t able to repeat the effort in Athens, which made the result in Sydney seem strange.
In 2007, the athlete admitted that she had used illegal steroids and chose to give back the awards she had earned.
5. Rodrigo Pessoa
Rodrigo Pessoa is a rider from Brazil. He won the Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics and has also won three world titles in the sport.
The 2004 award was only given after a year. It was passed down from Irishman Cian O’Connor, whose horse, Waterford Crystal, tested positive for the illegal tranquilizers fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol.
6. Rodrigo Pessoa and Bernardo Alves
Horseback riding was the scene of the first two drug cases in Brazil at the Olympics. Rodrigo Pessoa and Bernardo Alves’ horses were banned in Beijing in 2008 because they tested positive for drugs that were not allowed.
7. Cataldo Kissy
Kissy Cataldo da Costa is a rower from Brazil. Kissya started rowing after being persuaded to do so by someone at the bank where she was an intern.
In 2000, she began rowing for Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, a team she represented until 2011.
In 2002, she played in her first game for the Brazilian national team. It was the first time a Brazilian woman was found doping at the Olympics.
The rower was kicked out of the London 2012 race because they tested positive for the drug EPO.
8. Athens Games
There were 25 cases of cheating at the 2004 Athens Games, which made them stand out as the most recent ones. No less than eight Olympic winners lost their medals.
9. Ricky Demont
In the past, Rick DeMont was an American swimmer who competed in the Munich Olympics in 1972. As of 1973, DeMont was the first guy to swim the 400-meter freestyle in less than 4 minutes.
In Munich in 1972, the athlete was the first Olympic winner to lose his medal for doping. He won gold in the 400m freestyle but lost it when he tested positive for ephedrine, a drug that speeds up metabolism.
10. Mark Cavendish
Lance Armstrong is a former professional cyclist from North America who won the road racing title in 1993. Between 1999 and 2005, he won the Tour de France seven times in a row, which was a record.
This made him popular. One of the biggest sports stars in the world lost all of his titles and fame in 2012. Lance Armstrong said that he did use drugs to help him succeed, and he was kicked out of the sport.
The American won seven straight wins in France, but not many people know that he also won a medal at the Olympics. Armstrong won third place in Sydney in 2000, but he lost it after it came out that he had been doping.
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